New York City is badly in need of blood donations. The need is so severe that The New York Blood Center is launching a new campaign, “Give Blood NYC,” with the goal of 25,000 blood donations by New Year’s Eve. Those who donate blood can enter a sweepstake to win one of 50 prizes, including: Coaches’ Club tickets to the New York Jets’ home opener. Tickets for “Top of the Rock” (30 Rockefeller) Observation Deck. Monthly passes for NYC Ferry from Hornblower. Executive Pass to the Empire State Building Observatory for the winner and five guests. Free Krispy Kreme doughnuts for a year. In Astoria, the 114th St Precinct is hosting a mobile blood drive on Wednesday December 9 and Thursday December 10, at 34-16 Astoria Blvd. Click here to schedule an appointment to donate on Wednesday December 9. Click here to schedule an appointment to donate on Thursday December 10. Once you’ve made your donation, click here to enter the sweepstakes. Remember, your donation could save lives!

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On Thursday December 10 at noon, Mount Sinai Queens is hosting a free online event that will be discussing eye care as it relates to the pandemic. Dr. Varun Pawar, Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, answers questions such as: How does the coronavirus affect our eyes? What steps are eye doctors taking to protect patients’ eyes during the pandemic? What changes might we expect? What precautions should we be taking? Don’t miss this informative event! The meeting information is: https://mountsinai.zoom.us/j/99859000843 or Dial1-646-876-9923; Meeting ID: 998 5900 0843   Photo: Paul Siewert

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OANA President Richard Khuzami attended a recent local event held by the new group Astoria Urban Agriculture Alliance (AUAA) who want to create a community garden and educational space on an unused lot on Hoyt Avenue North between 19th and 21st Streets. Richard told those gathered how good it was to see that this space is finally being activated, especially because of local opposition at all previous attempts. Read the press release here. AUAA hopes that when the lot, known as The Sitting Area, has been planted with small gardens in its empty tree pits, the space will be used as an educational hub with skill sharing, community building, and gardening lessons for the community. OANA has written to Queens Parks Commissioner Michael Dockett to indicate support for the new project, stating that we are  “ \excited at the possibility of having an easily-accessible space in Astoria that provides education about urban gardening and beautification, especially during a time when COVID-19 has created a critical need for public spaces. . . . The proposed location — between Astoria Park and Chappetto Square on Hoyt Boulevard North, between 19th St. and 21st St. — provides a central area in the neighborhood, ideal for seed shares, plant giveaways, beautification projects, and various gardening workshops. The space would benefit all members of the community. . . . Organizations in support of the community educational green space proposal include Astoria Park Alliance, Astoria Mutual Aid Network, and Friends of Astoria Heights Park, among many others. OANA is thrilled to add our name to the list, as we understand the need for spaces that serve our community during these troubling times.”    

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In very welcome news, it was recently announced that habitat restoration in Hallets Cove will begin in early 2021. The plan is to clean up trash from the East River, which has in the past been used as a dumping ground,, restore the riverbank’s ecology, and safely remove the “radio tower,” a rotted pier that has been an eyesore for many years. In a statement on Facebook, District 22 Council Member Costa Constantinides said: “For too long, the community has been disconnected from the waterfront because of our crumbling infrastructure. Glad to work with NYEDC, Queens Borough President Sharon Lee & the Astoria Houses community to change that dynamic and create a healthier waterfront.” OANA President Richard Khuzami told QNS.com “’Old Astoria, especially Hallets Cove, is in the midst of a hard fought renaissance, integrating it with the rest of NYC. With the advent of the NYC Ferry Landing, the recent stepped-up street cleaning by the NYC Department of Sanitation, efforts like the removal of the Radio Tower and corresponding clean-up of the Cove, and cultural institutions such as Socrates Sculpture Park and Noguchi Museum, the Western Queens waterfront is now becoming a destination of choice for all New Yorkers. And the residents of Old Astoria are now easily accessing all that our great city has to offer.’” Claudia Coger, president of the Astoria Houses Residents Association, told QNS.com that the Astoria Houses community “’and the entire north western Queens neighborhood are excited to see this project get off the ground. As a lifelong Astoria Houses resident and a lover of the outdoors, I’m especially grateful to see these beginning stages of our waterfront’s revival and restoration. This will ensure that many future generations will be able to access, interact, learn from, and appreciate the beauty of our natural landscape.’”  ...

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As the curve of the coronavirus pandemic in New York City appears to have been flattened, there has been discussion of how to start safely reopening businesses. During the fine weather of the week of May 15-17, photographs and comments on social media portrayed crowds in the sidewalk, not observing social distancing, outside those restaurants and bars who were offering window service. This problem will only worsen as the weather gets warmer. Our bars and restaurants are essential to our local economy and in order to help them reopen safely, OANA is proposing evening closure of streets with restaurants. Our proposal would create enough space so that tables can be placed outside while still observing social distancing regulations. Closing streets to vehicular traffic temporarily (for instance, from 6-11 pm) would allow deliveries and services to still be available during the day, and leave local retail unaffected. Under our proposal, the streets closed to traffic in the evening would only be those with a high density of cafes and restaurants, such as Ditmars Blvd., 30th Avenue and Broadway. OANA’s proposal of closing some streets was featured by PIX11 News who ran a story on NYC small business owners who intend to reopen this month, with or without governmental permission. “We have to do it intelligently, take it step by step, but it has to be done,” OANA President Richard Khuzami told PIX11. And that story traveled as far as Texas, where it appeared on ABC affiliate station KXXV. OANA’s proposal was also featured in the Daily News of May 23, with the quote from our proposal that: “when one weighs the positive of increased economic activity plus more effective social distancing against the inconvenience of losing parking for a few hours or having to walk a block to get a bus,...

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On Saturday May 23 at 7 pm, our friends at Headwall Theatre Company will present a free online screening of Echoes of Ireland, a play written and directed by Brian C. Petti. Beginning five years after the end of the potato famine in Ireland, this production follows the Cunyngham clan through their journey from County Cork to Manhattan, through immigrant life in the States, to the assimilation and rebirth of their family as American citizens who never forget from whence they came. Our neighbors who were lucky to see Headwall’s productions of The Other Place and Hunting and Gathering will know they won’t want to miss this new play. Everyone else should check it out! Reserve a spot here, and on the day of the performance a link to view the performance will be emailed to you.   Photo: Headwall Theatre Company  

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As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, it’s been inspiring to see the neighborly spirit of our Queens community during the current crisis, with individuals coming forward to support existing non-profits and/or starting their own groups. We’ve been given a list of mutual aid groups in Queens, and since there is a lot of information, we’ve set up the information in a Google document that you can view online.  Our thanks to Gabrielle Tang for providing information and checking/editing the spreadsheet. The groups have varying focuses but between them provide services such as meal delivery, meal pick-up, grocery delivery, running errands, medication pick up, pet walking, laundry service; resource sharing; emotional support calls, connecting people with social services, help finding jobs, providing mutual aid funds/ cash assistance, PPE donations; help filling out forms for UI and other government assistance, legal help, support for undocumented neighbors, interpreting, connecting agencies, organizations and food providers to communities, and donating dishes donated to hospitals, EMT, NYPD, NYFD, first responders, senior citizens, and struggling families. If you are interested in being connected with a group that provides meals but you have specific requirements (kosher, halal, etc.), you should feel free to make dietary requests with these groups, and the groups will try to accommodate you within their means. And if you are involved with a Queens mutual aid group that is not on the spreadsheet, please let us know in the comments or at info@oana-ny.org Photo: Wikicommons

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As the numbers of new COVID-19 infections are finally beginning to go down in New York City, it’s a relief to feel that we may be able to entertain some cautious optimism about the pandemic. But with most businesses still shut down and many jobs already lost, a full economic recovery is realistically a considerable way off. Renters, homeowners, and landlords have all been affected. But the small-scale landlords in New York (a category very likely to own a building in Astoria) are more likely to be vulnerable than large corporations. Richard Khuzami, president of Old Astoria Neighborhood Association (OANA) , who is also a small landlord, was contacted by QNS.com regarding calls for rent relief for New York City tenants. ‘”I completely understand there’s an issue and there are people in situations that can’t pay rent, especially with issues collecting unemployment and the government checks that operationally turned into a fiasco. But rent relief shouldn’t be on the backs of landlords,’” Richard told QNS. Richard added that rent relief is only practicable if landlords have their mortgage, utilities and insurance forgiven as well, together with a holiday for property taxes. OANA has previously reached out to our congressional representatives concerning the forbearance of mortgage payments  during the Covid-19 emergency. Also, there was a recent interview in BIZNOW. As Richard discussed with QNS, the moratorium only accounts for state-controlled moratoriums, while the majority of mortgages come from federal agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae. While “his bank told him that while he doesn’t have to pay his mortgage and won’t penalize him, they ‘can’t guarantee there won’t be a balloon payment’ once the moratoriums are lifted, Richard told QNS. Small landlords should qualify for the federal Paycheck Protection Program, since they are also a small business, according to Richard. “I’m...

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Please join EMBCA (the East Mediterranean Business Cultural Alliance, in Association with the AHEPA Hellenic Cultural Commission (HCC) and AHEPA District 6, for a special Mother’s Day Concert on Sunday, May 10, 2020 at 2 P.M. New York Time/ 9 P.M. Athens Time. Join at  https://youtu.be/1BrTrzJHoHs and let’s have some fun on that day, and raise our spirits during these difficult times. The virtual programming will feature a musical concert with performers coming live from both New York and Athens, and will include a Mothers Day poetry reading by Professor Nicholas Alexiou. The line-up will include:   MOTHERS DAY POETRY READING Prof. Nicholas Alexiou- Prof. Alexiou, an officer of EMBCA, has taught in the Department of Sociology since 1990, and has received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. His fields of interest are ethnic studies, political sociology and social theory, social research and statistics, and issues concerning the Hellenic-American community. He has established the first Oral History Archive and Immigration Library for the Greeks of New York at Queens College. Also, a contemporary poet and artist, he is the author of five books of poetry, and many of his poems have been published in Hellenic and American journals and anthologies. PERFORMERS Spiros Cardamis is a pianist, composer, arranger, and producer and is considered a preeminent expert in Greek popular music. Mike Savvas is an UNESCO awarded artist, songwriter, guitarist and tzoura player. His musical style is reflected by his influences in Heavy Rock, Hellenic Rebetiko and World Music. He is currently part of the musical project Porphyra which have released two albums have performed at Carnegie Hall, the Players Theatre and other prestigious venues. Richard Khuzami, an officer of EMBCA, is a significant civic and community leader and President of Old Astoria Neighborhood Association. In his role as musician...

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The nonprofit Queens Together has announced  that it is partnering with Brighter Bites NYC to launch a new Western Queens pantry, managed by local grassroots organization The Connected Chef (who may be familiar to Western Queens folks from their participation in the healthy living events at Socrates Sculpture Park in happier times). The effort marks the largest fresh produce distribution in New York City to date during the COVID-19 crisis, Queens Together said in a press release, adding that the initiative will safely provide 2,000 families throughout Western Queens with fresh produce at a time that food insecurity in the community is at an unprecedented high. In a great example of how nonprofit organizations are adapting to new demands in these challenging times, the partnership was created remarkably quickly. On April 17, Brighter Bites reached out to Queens Together for help. Their regular distribution of fresh produce to families in Queens, which usually takes place through the public school system, was inoperable due to the COVID-19 crisis and the closure of school campuses. By April 24th, Queens Together had created a grassroots solution with The Connected Chef and began implementing the steps to safely provide 2,000 marginalized families with fresh produce.   With Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas in attendance, distribution began Tuesday April 28th from the Plaxall Gallery warehouse in Long Island City. Queens Together said that they chose The Connected Chef due to their extensive experience in local distribution and delivery systems of groceries to families in need. This is an ongoing program, and Queens Together co-founder Jaime-Faye Bean indicates that they hope the initiative will grow. “Between loss of income, fears related to immigration status, and the risks associated with leaving home at this time, many families are not able to access fresh, nourishing food in adequate quantities. We...

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